<< … …You. PhrËÊ … Shh… Ss… >>

Whispers.

All I heard at that moment.

Following that I instantly stopped my music and took off my headphones. I looked around try to find any clues regarding their origin, but nothing was to be found. Just the normalcy of the normal world.

- Shit. –

Despite being inside a groceries store, the scorching air from the outside that leaked through the door every time a customer entered or left, kept me sweating like crazy.

- Those sounded like whispers… I guess you can't even run from the heat of summer in this city by just hiding on stores. I should better also buy myself some cool water. –

I murmured while drying the sweat on my forehead and picking up a bag of instantaneous noodles.

- Curry ones are better than chicken ones. –

I laughed.

People in there walked as usual in search of their groceries, some of them even daring to bring their flip flops with them to a public space.

I supposed that, even in Tokyo, people desperately try to find new ways of avoiding the heat of the summer.

I kept walking around that place for a while.

In the distance of two corridors and a half, in the deepest section of that convenience store, I found the greatest of all treasures: The refrigerator containing all the beverages, including an infinite display of water brands that now I would have to choose from.

- Hmm. Should I proceed as usually, or may I try out any other brand? Nah, I don't really find myself very adventurous today. –

* I'll take the same as usual and return home. I'm already missing my AC. *

And so, without letting go any of the bags with food that I was carrying, I crouched to get my bottle.

<< … Aah^J… -- f-… >>

As soon as a raised again, everything changed.

- Huh?! –

All the space surrounding me changed, even the temperature did.

- What the… -

Before I could notice, I appeared in a rather unusual scenario.

Everything around me, even the buildings, seemed out of place. I couldn't avoid paying special attention in the way people dressed, especially the ones who were wearing pieces of heavy armour.

- Where am I? Am I hallucinating due to the heavy temperatures? –

That place was nothing like I had ever seen before. Brick and wooden made houses raised everywhere, sharing their importance with all the shops in the form of sunshades and billboards with food and other products displayed.

Food that I had never seen before.

- This… This looks like a medieval market… -

Still, with all the bags and the water bottle, I couldn't miss the fact that the avenue was fully composed by dirt and dust.

Everything around me was new. Everything was so colourful.

I couldn't hide my astonishment and so it portraited my face while I looked at each one thing that crossed between my eyes.

<< Poom >>

I went to make a step forward when I crashed with reality, literally.

Before I could even react, as soon as I went to advance, in the single interval of a blink, I appeared once again in the supermarket, crashing in the action with the refrigerator in front on me. The same from where I took my water bottle a minute before.

- … -

* What the hell is going on? Am I sick? *

I felt mi forehead once again, this time intending to check my body temperature.

- It seemed too real to be just a hallucination… -

I sighted.

- I don't know what happened, but I better not give it too much relevance… I wonder if Kamijo is now available to play some MMOs… I'll Call him as soon as I return home, hehehe. –

As if nothing ever happened, I decided to leave the groceries store and to get involved in the hardest of all the challenges: Returning home under this summer heat.

I yawned.

The way home was warm but pretty much normal. Streets seemed as crowded and boring as usual, and youngsters enjoyed their summertime holidays as they pleased.

Some people even resorted to use umbrellas to fight the Sun. For me, having my music with me was more than enough to combat the climate and to keep my spirits up.

After some time walking in the street, I arrived at a calmer neighbourhood, one closer to my house.

This one was pretty distinct, being its main difference with the one before the much smaller people affluence that this one had.

<< …--- ÄSÂSAS-- . .. ..^¨^*´dÖyK^` >>

I heard the whispers again the moment that I stopped on a zebra crossing, while waiting for the light to go green for pedestrians.

Annoyed by them, I decided to raise the volume of my headphones.

Ten meters on my left, a truck appeared, accelerating just before the vehicle's light went red. Surprised by the increment in speed of that vehicle, I decided to stop before crossing, and by doing so avoiding getting ran by it.

- Son of a bitch… Are you in a hurry or what?! –

I turned and yelled to the truck as it left the scene.

- Hold on… -

Once again, before even noticing, I found myself in that strange medieval market that I had visited moments before.

<< ^^[GHNÖóçÇ… --- - -.. >>

- This place… Again? –

Without any hesitation, I crouched down to touch some of that dirt and dust.

- There is no doubt, this is not a hallucination. This is real! –

I instantly dropped to the ground all the bags that I was carrying, took the water bottle and moistened all my face with it. I even rubbed my eyes as a last effort to check the veracity of the image in front of me.

Men and women, some of them armed, others loaded to their heads, looked at me in all kinds of funny ways, as if I had jumped out of some funny illustration.

I didn't know what to think about that, they looked also surreal for me.

- How in hell did I ended up here? Is this any kind of new fantasy world?! –

Never-seen animals, weird-looking people, a completely different society, and time setting… I couldn't believe it, but it was true. I was stepping with my feet in a different world.

- But wait a second. I am one hundred percent sure that I avoided getting hit by that track like all fantasy world protagonists. How did I end up here?! -

And so, this adventure began for me.